Home

Olympics

Having Penchant for Dating Just Athletes, Olivia Dunne Breaks Silence on Paul Skenes After His Abrupt Career Halt

Published 09/13/2023, 9:38 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

The gymnastics sensation who shot to fame, Olivia Dunne, is venturing into uncharted territories this year. After earning LSU Tigers’ fourth spot in the NCAA Championship last year, the highest-paid college athlete is making waves off-mats. Just around the onset of summer, her dating rumors swirled making headlines on the internet. For months, her name was paired alongside many young elite athletes from various divisions of American sports. However, a burgeoning power couple story was budding on the LSU campus.

The gymnast was initially linked with Paul Skenes at the College World Series in June when she was seen wearing an LSU Tigers grey emblem jersey. The attention was centered on her life since her being named 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, with speculations about the two having something going on. Skenes was the first to succumb to the update, and later Dunne seemed to have chosen to eventually join her boyfriend in the announcement.

Olivia Dunne shares the long-awaited news

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The 20-year-old gymnast finally decided to drop hints, and it happened just when Paul Skenes needed it the most. Just last week, his name was notably absent from the Development List for the upcoming season. Throughout his baseball journey over the summer, his girlfriend was frequently seen wearing a cap adorned with his team’s emblem, showing unwavering support. Dunne’s backing for him only intensified following his professional breakthrough. Recently, she added a TikTok video in which she chose baseball over football, further solidifying her allegiance.

The adorable slideshow video showed Dunne in a serious mode with the caption, “he plays (football emoji).” The picture then slides and shows the option, captioned ” he plays (baseball emoji),” amusingly still with a serious face. The final slide shows her beaming with the caption, ” he plays (baseball emoji) I didn’t hear you the first time.” The lighthearted post outlays her effort to cheer for her man while also confirming their relationship going strong.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Olympics stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Just the next day after the Pittsburgh Pirates’ released the statement that the 21-year-old Skenes “will not pitch again this season.” Dunne, who was busy with final-year trips, woke up and uploaded a lovely Snapchat update wearing the Pirates cap to show her support. She wrote in the caption, “hat: courtesy of the pirates.”

 While the two appear to be inseparable now that their romance has been out, the internet has snubbed her with some other athletes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Olivia Dunne’s cross-sport dating rumor

Dunne’s growing passion for networking with athletes enables her to attend athletic events as a prominent social media influencer. As previously stated, she wanted to try something new by attending her first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 9th.  On June 25th, she was present at the NASCAR Ally 400 event in Nashville Superspeedway with her then-alleged beau Chase Elliot at a NASCAR race. To add to the buzz, the NASCAR’s Instagram accounts did not shy away from capturing and posting the two together.

via Getty

The Chevrolet 9 driver and gymnast were simped over for quite a while after the photo was released adding to the speculation which soon hit a dead end. Dunne’s romantic affair with Skenes appears to be in its early stages as she enjoys her final LSU season before leaving gymnastics.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch this story Just like Simone Biles, college gymnast Olivia Dunnes made a huge “Sacrifice” while taking an important career decision

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Divya Purohit

868Articles

One take at a time

Divya Purohit is a sports writer at EssentiallySports specializing her coverage in American sporting events. She recently found US Sports writing to be a niche that she enjoys and began following sports. Divya enjoys researching and creating various pieces of articles.
Show More>

Edited by:

Suman Varandani